Ridgeland, Miss., (Feb. 20, 2018) – C Spire is conducting the first test in Mississippi today of a new, patented 5G technology that promises to revolutionize how ultra-fast fixed wireless service is deployed to consumers and businesses with unprecedented capacity and coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional fiber optic cable.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who has been designated as the agency’s lead on wireless infrastructure deployment, visited C Spire’s Ridgeland, Mississippi headquarters to witness the first in-state demonstration of Cohere Technologies’ new 5G turboConnectTM fixed wireless access solution and tour a wireless internet trial site in Pelahatchie.

The Santa Clara-based Cohere Technologies developed the 5G turboConnectTM fixed wireless access solution, which is based on its groundbreaking Orthogonal Time Frequency and Space (OTFS) wireless modulation technology, to help broadband companies and wireless providers meet the growing demand for advanced services and the timely development of 5G standards.

“C Spire’s demonstration validates how OTFS wireless modulation technology helps carriers overcome the traditional challenges deploying wireless services,” said Cohere Technologies CEO Shlomo Rakib. “C Spire’s dedication to deliver on the promise of true 5G is strategically aligned with Cohere’s efforts, making it an ideal partnership, and a win-win for the industry and customers served by C Spire.”

The test at the Ridgeland-based technology firm’s corporate offices relies on sub-6GHz lower band spectrum – 3.65 GHz – which provides better 5G coverage inside buildings and in rural areas. “We’re working aggressively to bring consumers and businesses the benefits of 5G as part of our suite of broadband solutions,” said C Spire President Stephen Bye.

Bye and Rakib said 5G is expected to pave the way for wider adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), self-driving cars, smart cities, artificial intelligence and robotics and broader deployment of technology-enabled telehealth and telemedicine applications. Cohere Technologies’ OTFS technology improves coverage, spectral efficiency and cost savings.

With a variety of 5G technologies and massive deployment of new sites needed to meet the future technology demands of consumers, business and industry, Carr will discuss with C Spire how streamlined permitting across all levels of government and efficient spectrum policy can help accelerate availability of advanced broadband.

“5G will require a 10-to-100-fold increase in small cells and millions of miles of new fiber and other high-speed connections,” Carr said. “We need to drive out unnecessary regulatory costs and speed the timeline for obtaining permits so that companies can build and deploy the infrastructure that will power our digital economy.”

C Spire is continuing to conduct 5G technology trials using high-band millimeter wave spectrum in the 28 GHz and 60 GHz ranges in addition to this week’s mid-band testing and demonstrations. “A widely supported 5G ecosystem is critical to achieve the necessary economies of scale that will unlock the promise of this technology,” Bye added.

Bye said broadband expansion is a key part of the C Spire Tech Movement initiative, an outgrowth of the firm’s 2013 groundbreaking Fiber-to-the-Home program, one of the first of its type in the U.S. and the fastest to connect thousands of consumers in nine Mississippi communities to Gigabit speed internet, digital streaming TV and home phone services.

One of the company’s central Tech Movement goals is massive expansion of broadband and 5G fixed wireless internet access to more than 250,000 consumers and businesses across the state, including availability of ultra-fast Gigabit internet service to one out of every five of the state’s 250,000 businesses.

The high-tech firm has been on a mission to expand broadband availability and boost average mobile and fixed broadband speeds in Mississippi. The company operates over 8,000 route miles of fiber optics across the state and has deployed more wireless spectrum in the region than any other communications provider.

In recent years, C Spire’s continuing technology investment has played a central role in state gains for average mobile and fixed broadband speeds. The company became the state’s fastest internet service provider in 2014 and more than quadrupled speeds following its successful FTTH program.

About C Spire

C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming Mississippi through the C Spire Tech Movement, which includes the massive deployment of broadband internet to homes and small businesses, a state-of-the-art digital experience for its customers and team members, technology innovation leadership and the creation and retention of a 21st century technology workforce in its region. The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.